Local News Headlines–6/12/2013

A house explosion yesterday morning in Dobbin, along Highway 105 between Plantersville and Montgomery, has left an infant and two adult women with life-threatening injuries. The eight-month-old boy was airlifted to UT-Medical Branch in Galveston with severe burns and other injuries. The child’s 58-year-old grandmother and 65-year-old aunt were airlifted to MemorialHermannHospital in Houston with burns and injuries. The Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Office says the cause of the blast remains undetermined, but investigators suspect a buildup of flammable gases in or around the home led to the explosion. The explosion leveled the house to its slab, windows were broken in nearby homes and businesses, and the blast was felt up to 20 miles away. According to the Dobbin Facebook page, a relief fund has been established at Woodforest Bank in Montgomery.

The homeless man arrested for the robbery of Bryan’s First Victoria Bank two weeks ago has been charged with a holdup from 2009. Officer Kelley McKethan says 61-year-old James Kyle Graham remains in jail on bonds totaling $400,000. Investigators say a First Victoria employee says Graham was the man who held her up at gunpoint when she worked at the former Guaranty Bank on south Texas. And, detectives have linked Graham to the getaway car used in the first holdup.

And, meeting in Houston, the Southern Baptist Convention has re-elected its first black president. Reverend Fred Luter, Junior, who was first elected last year, ran unopposed. Getting more attention are pastors at the convention announcing their churches will no longer sponsor Boy Scout troops because of the Boy Scout’s stand in issues involving gay participants. Russell Moore, the president of the ethics and liberty commission, says the pre-eminent issue at the convention is how Southern Baptists can send more missionaries throughout the world.